Goals

School starts on Monday! I can't believe another school year is here. I'm excited and nervous about this one. I've learned that I have 13 boys and 7 girls (yikes!). I feel much more confident this year, and I'm so excited to improve my literacy stations, my word wall activities, and my guided reading groups. I'm also looking forward to our new math curriculum. Last year was wonderful...I had a great group of kiddos and some outstanding parents. Who knows what this year will bring??? We have had some really good staff development meetings this year. In one of these, one of my colleagues challenged us to make a list of goals for this school year. I've thought long and hard about these, posted them in my classroom as a daily reminder, and now I thought I'd share them here. GOALS: 2008/2009 1. Working together effectively: I want to teach my students to solve social problems/disagreements with minimal or no teacher intervention. 2. Take responsibility for own learning: My goal is for my students to be excited to learn new things and to apply the things they learn to other aspects of their lives. 3. Possess problem solving and higher level thinking skills: I want to teach my students to "think outside the box." 4. Care about others: I want to teach my students to be caring individuals who treat themselves and others with respect. I hope and pray that I can be a good teacher to these kiddos, teach them the things they need to learn, establish a love of learning in them, give them confidence to achieve their own goals, and ultimately show them Christ's love.

8 days left

I just realized that it's been a month since I've posted!! It's not that I haven't had enough time...because I have...so I'll blame it on the lifetime movies I keep watching!! I have had a blast during this second-half of summer. Our friends got married, mom and I went to South Padre on vacation (where we had a blast), I got my hair cut short, and we moved my Granny to Abilene. I've also worked on a few things for school and have taken care of some doctor's appointments. Here are some pics from all of those activities: Me and Matthew at Casey and Ashley's wedding Mom eating more food than I've EVER seen her eat! Me and Mom by the ocean...nice hair!! On the Dolphin Cruise I have 8 more days of summer and there is still fun to be had!! During the next 8 days I'm planning on... *Spending a day at Six Flags *Watching Matthew's last two softball games *Getting my hair cut again *Working in my classroom *Watching Lifetime movies Enjoy your week!

austin and a sick puppy

Matthew and I went to Austin this weekend to visit Chloe and Andrew. We all had a great time!! Friday night Andrew cooked out on the grill and we ate fajitas. Then we drank some yummy drinks and played Friends Scene It and of course the Wii. We knew that the dogs would be staying outside quite a bit over the weekend, so on Saturday morning we decided to buy them a pool. Yoshi was NOT a fan, but we found out that Max is definitely a water dog! He cracked us up laying in it and sticking his face in the water. He was so cute!! Chloe and I got pedicures on Saturday and then we all went to play disc golf and miniature golf that evening. I was the dog nanny while we played disc!! On Sunday we floated down the Guadalupe River. We had so much fun! That night we went to The Oasis to eat. The place is huge and overlooks a beautiful lake. On Monday we went to see Walle..so good.. and then went on the bat cruise. The bat cruise takes you around a river and underneath a bridge where bats fly out at sunset. It was really cool! We had such a fun weekend and Max and I both got to see our BFF's!!! On our way home yesterday, though, Max started getting sick. He threw up pretty much right after we left Austin, and did it several more times on the way back to Dallas (we drove with the windows rolled down!). I wasn't too worried because I knew that he had eaten some treats that he wasn't used to, but the throwing up didn't stop. He woke me up in the middle of the night and that's when I got really scared. I've heard of dogs eating parts of toys and then having to have surgery that costs thousands of dollars and I just KNEW that's what happened to Max. I kept thinking, "I love him but I don't have thousands of dollars to spend!" I slept with him on the couch because I thought this might be my last night with him (I get dramatic in the middle of the night). This morning I took him to the vet who did some expensive x-rays. The vet thinks he just ate something different, but wants me to watch him for the next few days. I'm pretty sure he'll be alright but I was so scared! He is definitely my baby!! Thanks for reading this insanely long post! Enjoy your week! **UPDATE: Evidently Max ate an entire squeaker out of a toy. Don't ask me how I found out.

redeeming love

These past couple of weeks have gone by in a whirlwind! I got through the end of school, went home for a few days, celebrated with Sara and Jason as they got married, and moved into a new apartment. Things have been crazy and it's nice to be settled down again. This morning Matthew and I met with our preacher again. This guy has been through a lot and he has such great insight into the scriptures and just life in general. He's really challenging us (not just Matthew and I but the whole church) to be better people and to not live lives of complacency. God has given me a lot so he expects a lot out of me. It's a very simple message but hard to understand and act on. I pray that I am embarking on a new spiritual journey unlike any other in my life. How exciting!! BTW if you have not read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers you really should. It's the story of Hosea put into modern times. It is a great story of the love and forgiveness of the Father, something that we all need to be reminded of from time to time. I read it a couple of years ago and I decided to start it again today. This week I'll be busy trying to get my apartment like I want it, helping out with VBS, and laying by the pool. What a fun week!!

what holiday are you?

You Are Easter

You are an optimistic, hopeful, and genuinely sweet person. Sensitive and affectionate, you are easily touched. You love nature, animals, and anything cute or cuddly. For you, every day is a new chance - no matter what happened yesterday. What makes you celebrate: Almost anything. You love most holidays and celebrations. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The peacemaker. You can prevent any squabbles that might break out. On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Remember to include everyone

What Holiday Are You?

I feel old. My youngest cousin graduated from High School this weekend. He is the BABY of the family!! No, really I'm so proud of him and excited to see what happens in his future. Here's a picture of the frousins, plus Matthew: It was so good to see everyone, even if it was for a short time. On another note: THREE MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!! I can't believe it! I honestly have mixed emotions. I am so excited to sleep in, clean, go on trips, sleep in, watch movies, etc. , but I'm really going to miss my class. They have been amazing! I've hardly had any discipline problems this year and they have really taught me a lot. Things My Class has Taught Me This Year: * Making a mess is okay and even fun, and it will get cleaned up * You can teach mealworms tricks * It's sad when a silkworm dies * Kids can learn English extremely quickly when they need to * Girl drama starts YOUNG * My classroom is the only safe place for some kids and I need to love them like Jesus does each and every day (NOT an easy task!!) I am looking forward to so much this summer! Here's a quick preview (can you tell I'm a list-maker??) * Trip to Abilene * Rangers games * Sara and Jason's wedding * Moving in with Valerie * VBS * Trip to Austin to see Chlova * Trip to South Padre with mom * Sleeping in and laying by the pool Enjoy your week!

memorial day fun

I am so ready for summer! Today definitely got me in the mood. I enjoyed the weekend so much more knowing that I didn't have to get up early today. This weekend was busy but so much fun! Here's a rundown of it: Friday: My second grade team had an end of year party. We gathered at Linda's house for hamburgers and just talked. We had a really nice time. Saturday: I spent a good part of the day cleaning out my ENTIRE closet. My closet is huge and I've just been putting things in there when I don't know what to do with them. I'm trying to get rid of things before I move so that I won't have so much junk to take over to the new apartment. Oh, and I found a dress for Sara and Jason's wedding. It's so pretty and I'm really excited about it. Sunday: Matthew and I went to church. Art, the preacher, talked to us about doing a 4 week bible study with him. We are really excited to get to know him better. We then watched the Ranger's game, went to a birthday party, and hung out with a couple of Matthew's friends that night. We ended up playing Wii until midnight...it was a blast. Monday: Matthew was so nice to take me to the arboretum. I just love that place! It was beautiful but extremely humid, so we didn't stay as long as we had planned. We ended up going to eat at Dodie's afterwards (really good cajun food). Then Matthew had to work so I went home and cleaned out my dresser! Here are a couple of pictures from the arboretum: Enjoy your week!